Some reflections on mathematics classroom notebooks and their relationship to the public and private nature of student practices

This article considers students' classroom notebooks, their character and their role in learning. The results presented were found within the frame work of a broader international project, the Learners Perspective Study, whose goal is to identify classroom practice from the students' point of view. Two 8^thgrade classrooms were studied. In each,every lesson over the course of three weeks was videotaped. After each lesson, two students were interviewed and their notebooks entrees for that lesson were photocopied; once a week, the teacher was interviewed as well. From the analysis of the data it became apparent that the notebook in the classroom is a publicobject; it is ever open for inspection and contains only finished work. That it is not a private object in which the student may freely record preliminary ideas, musings, and reflections may affect student learning negatively. The categorization of public and private as a categorization of learning activities is discussed. The relationship between the findings on notebooks and research on writing and classroom journals is discussed; in particular, a connection is made between public and private domains and transactional and expressive writing,respectively. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Context of Thought Experiments in Physics Learning

This paper takes a cognitive perspective in an attempt to analyze mental mechanisms involved in contextual learning. In the following, it is suggested that contextualized environments evoke mental mechanisms that support reasoning about what if, imaginary situations – utilizing a powerful mental mechanism known from the history of physics as thought experiments (TEs). Thought experiments are associated with visualization of data and imagery that originate in implicit knowledge. This paper suggests that thought experiments rely on sensory memories constructed by the learner during past experience. Such sensory memories are activated by the context. The first part of the paper deals with the definition, nature, incidents, and experimental data related to implicit knowledge and TEs. Empirical results are then analyzed in order to explore the role of sensory memories and underlying schemata in TEs, thereby suggesting a set of embodied schemata that act as implicit assumptions and provide context-dependent epistemological primitives that underlie imaginary events in a manner that will statistically match the outer world.     

Curriculum Materials and Resources in Teacher Education Programmes

The authors report on a survey carried out of the present utilisation of curriculum materials and resources in teacher education in the State of Israel. A number of felt needs are identified and proposals for action are put forward.     

Becoming a teacher: The transition from teachers' college to classroom life

In the light of the recent literature on beginning teachers, this paper elaborates upon their concerns and how these concerns relate to school environments and to the teaching profession. The paper presents a qualitative study based upon interviews with beginning teachers and a content-analysis of the protocolled interviews. Findings indicate the co-existence of both commonalities and distinctive characteristics of beginning teachers' concerns in various types of schools. While commonalities pertain to concerns inherent in the teaching profession, distinctive characteristics pertain to school environments. The latter seem to be an influential factor in the professional socialization of beginning teachers. Practical implications are drawn for teacher educators, school advisers and inspectors.

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Zusammenfassung Angesichts neuerer Literatur über Junglehrer, arbeitet dieses Papier ihre Einstellungen heraus und wie diese Einstellungen mit dem Schulumfeld und dem Lehrerberuf in Verbindung zu bringen sind. Das Papier stellt eine qualitative Studie dar basierend auf Interviews mit Junglehrern und eine Inhaltsanalyse der Interviewprotokolle. Die Ergebnisse weisen auf eine Koexistenz sowohl gemeinsamer als auch unterschiedlicher Merkmale in den Einstellungen von Junglehrern in den verschiedenen Schultypen hin. Während die gemeinsamen Einstellungen inhärent dem Lehrerberuf zuzuordnen sind, gehören die unterschiedlichen Merkmale zum Schulumfeld. Das letztere scheint ein Faktor zu sein, der die berufliche Sozialisation der Junglehrer beeinflußt. Praktische Folgerungen werden daraus für die Lehrerausbilder, Schulbehörden und Schulinspektoren gezogen.

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Résumé A la lumière des études récentes qui existent sur les enseignants débutants, cet article examine en détail les problèmes que ceux-ci rencontrent et leurs rapports avec l'environnement scolaire et la profession d'enseignant. Il s'agit d'une étude qualitative basée sur des interviews d'enseignants débutants et une analyse du compte rendu écrit de ces interviews. Les résultats révèlent la coéxistence de caractéristiques communes et distinctives dans les problémes des enseignants débutants des différents types d'écoles. Si les problèmes communs à tous font partie inhérente de la profession d'enseignant, les caractéristiques distinctives ont trait, elles, à l'environnement scolaire. Celui-ci semble être un facteur qui influe sur la socialisation professionnelle de l'enseignant qui débute. Des implications pratiques sont présentées pour les professeurs chargés de la formation des futurs enseignants, les conseillers et inspecteurs d'écoles.

     

Gaining access to support for children with special educational needs in the early years in Ireland: parental perspectives

Ireland has a policy of inclusive education to enable children with special educational needs to access education alongside their peers. The introduction of early assessment procedures to ensure that children receive support and resources on entering formal education has been an important strategy for delivery of this policy. This paper uses data from interviews with parents and from focus groups with professionals involved in assessment to discuss the efficacy of this procedure. The findings suggest that whilst a policy has been adopted, much remains to be done to ensure that provision of assessment and adequate resources is achieved.     

The Work of Providers of Professional Development for Teachers of Mathematics: Two Case Studies of Experienced Practitioners

This paper is an initial investigation into the practice of providers of professional development for teachers of mathematics. The study examines the work of two providers of professional development for teachers of mathematics. Both provided professional development while working with teachers on implementing a new mathematics curriculum for seventh grade. Although their work conditions were quite different from each other the study reveals that there were similar characteristics in their practices. The most salient ones were acting out lessons, analyzing principles of the new curriculum, encouraging the teachers to explicate their concerns, and asking teachers to solve concrete practical problems related to the reservations they have about specific components of the new curriculum. The role of a program that prepared the two participants to be providers of professional development for teachers is also discussed.     

Recurring patterns in the development of high school biology students’ system thinking over time

The goal of this study was to identify and understand the mental models developed by 67 high school biology students as they learn about the human body as a complex system. Using concept maps, it sought to find an external way of representing how students organize their ideas about the human body system in their minds. We conducted a qualitative analysis of four concept maps created by each student throughout the 3-year learning process, which allowed us to identify that student’s systems thinking skills and the development of those skills over time. The improvement trajectories of the students were defined according to three central characteristics of complex systems: (a) hierarchy, (b) homeostasis and (c) dynamism. A comparative analysis of all of our students’ individual trajectories together revealed four typical learning patterns, each of which reflects a different form of development for systems thinking: “from the structure to the process level”, “from macro to micro level”, “from the cellular level to the organism level,” and “development in complexity of homeostasis mechanisms”. Despite their differences, each of these models developed over time from simpler structures, which evolved as they connected with more complex system aspects, and each indicates advancement in the student’s systems thinking.     

Teaching argumentative synthesis writing through deliberative dialogues: instructional practices in secondary education

Instructional Science - Dialogical argumentation practice contributes positively to argumentative writing skills. Specifically, deliberative dialogues are effective in promoting argument and...